Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Paradox of Choice

Barry Schwartz’s speech titled “Paradox of Choice” provided many insights about how our Western society has changed throughout the last 100 years. I want to start off saying that I deeply agree with his theory, having been a victim and an observer of the choice phenomenon. To provide a basis for those who have not listened to the podcast, Barry believes that the Western Hemisphere and its people (that’s us!) have been on an endless pursuit to maximize our freedom. This ideal has helped achieve many positive social and civil rights movements, led to industrialization, capitalism, and ultimately freedom of choice. How can we complain?
But we are and with good reason. The consequence of increased freedom is excessive choice which causes increased disappointment with our choices and ourselves. Obviously there are good things that come from increased choice such as efficiency, driving the weaker competitors out of the market, and the possibility of finding a better product that fits you or your family (even if its not until the second try…or sixth.) Barry says that the negative effect of an overwhelming number of choices is that it “produces paralysis instead of liberation.” We are no longer able to make a quick and easy decision.
This actually happened to me this past week when I was instructed to go pick up some more dog food for my boss’s dog. I’m not sure if it was idiotic of me not to ask what kind she wanted but really, who would have known all of my choices! There were literally 12 different brands each containing about nine different categories of food. Science Diet Sensitive Stomach. Blue Buffalo Large Breed Dog Food. Pedigree plus Healthy Heart. Nutro Max Beef and Rice Dog Food. Purina Pro Plan Shredded Blends (what does that even mean?)… And the list goes on and on. Finally, after scanning the isle for literally thirty minutes grabbing one bag and putting it down to grab another that I would soon be equally disappointed with I began to realize that it was just a dog. But then again, it was my boss’s dog and I did not want to disappoint my financial benefactor. Ultimately, I made my decision only to wonder if it was the “correct” one. The point is not whether the dog liked the food, which he does because he seems to be enjoying it just fine; the point is that it shouldn’t have been that hard or taken that long. I shouldn’t have been that disappointed in myself for possibly purchasing the wrong brand of dog food.
Secondly, he says that increased choices lead to escalation of expectations, only to be let down in the end. I disagree. I believe that increased choice can and may lead to the ideal of perfectionism and disillusionment but that this is not the case most of the time, especially if you know exactly what you want. With increased options we are given not only options from one designer, brand, store, boutique or mall but of a wide variety and assortment of them. The key is patience in shopping and diligence in making sure you find the product that best fits you. It may be a girl thing but I enjoy my pursuit to find what purchase will make me the most fulfilled. The problem arises when the consumer has a money constraint. For example, this Christmas I really wanted tall brown boots. I knew exactly what I wanted them to look like and after searching many stores, I found them! If I were able to afford the boots, I do not feel that I would have had any buyer’s remorse or feelings of discontent. I ended up buying cheaper boots that were also satisfactory to me. My problem was the money constraint, not my escalation of expectations.
The paradox of choice is all that our generation has grown up with. In a way, I think that our generation relishes in the fact that choice is available. We may handle it better than our parents can because we have grown up being inundated with marketing, products and choice. On the other hand, maybe I am too young to understand or not old enough to be tarnished by the phenomenon yet. Time will tell my friends, time will tell.

No comments:

Post a Comment